The shark fin on your car serves an important purpose<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI stopped mid-scoop of yogurt. A dishwasher? Was she serious?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUh\u2026 Veronica, I\u2019m saving for my prom dress,\u201d I said carefully, already bracing for impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her perfectly arched brows shot up. \u201cYour prom dress? That\u2019s ridiculous. You can just buy something cheap from one of those chain stores. A dishwasher is much more practical. And I don\u2019t want to hear any excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excuses? My jaw almost hit the floor. Here was a woman who, in two years, had contributed exactly zero to my personal happiness, acting as if I should hand over my savings like she was the Queen demanding tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What made it worse was that she was the one who\u2019d talked my dad out of letting me get a real part-time job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLena can only babysit for neighbors on this street,\u201d she\u2019d told him once over dinner. \u201cIt\u2019s safer, and she doesn\u2019t need that much money anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So all my prom dress savings came from odd babysitting gigs \u2014 enough for a dress I\u2019d been eyeing for months, but nowhere near enough for even the smallest dishwasher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the morning of her birthday, the house had turned into a command center for an overblown social event. Caterers rushed in and out. A party planner with a clipboard barked instructions. Delivery vans unloaded so many flowers that our dining room looked like a greenhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, I worked in the background \u2014 polishing mirrors, setting up drink stations, arranging hors d\u2019oeuvres trays \u2014 all while doing my best to avoid Veronica\u2019s hawk-like gaze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLena, refill the drink station! My guests are thirsty!\u201d she called from outside once people began to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I plastered on a polite smile and obeyed, floating from table to table like some invisible Cinderella, knowing full well there would be no magical ball or fairy godmother waiting for me later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her friends trickled in, all air kisses and perfumed hugs. Veronica basked in the attention, soaking up compliments on her gold-sequined dress as if she were walking a red carpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time the cake was rolled out \u2014 a towering gold-and-white confection worthy of a royal wedding \u2014 I\u2019d been running errands for hours. Dad lit the candles while Veronica posed for photos and wiggled in delight. Everyone sang loudly, glasses clinked, and for a moment, I thought the night might finally start winding down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guests had barely finished their cake when Veronica tapped her fork against a wineglass. The room quieted. She looked directly at me with a smirk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell,\u201d she began, \u201csince Lena didn\u2019t get me a dishwasher for my birthday, the least she can do is wash all these dishes. It\u2019s only fair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a heartbeat, I thought I\u2019d misheard her. But then I noticed twenty pairs of eyes swiveling toward me, eyebrows raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t get your mom a present?\u201d one of her friends, a woman named Tara, asked, voice dripping with faux pity. \u201cThat\u2019s just\u2026 sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not my mom,\u201d I said evenly, fighting the lump forming in my throat. \u201cAnd I told Veronica I didn\u2019t have the money. I\u2019ve been saving for prom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veronica waved a dismissive hand. \u201cJust wash the dishes, Lena. Do something useful for once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If she\u2019d said it privately, I might have argued. But in front of an audience, with Dad stuck somewhere across the yard? I just… obeyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started stacking dishes, my hands shaking. But then, something inside me shifted. Maybe it was humiliation turning into rage, or maybe it was the voice of my real mom reminding me I deserved better. Either way, I got an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guests had gathered their plates, cups, and utensils \u2014 all expensive china Veronica had rented from a luxury event company. I carefully loaded them into the sink, smiling sweetly at Veronica every time she glanced over to make sure I was working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But instead of scrubbing, I turned on the hottest water, added way too much soap, and let the suds build higher and higher. Then, when no one was paying attention, I slipped outside to join the party again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minutes later, a loud crash<\/em> echoed from the kitchen. Guests gasped. Veronica shrieked. We all rushed in to find foam spilling across the floor like a bubble volcano \u2014 and half the delicate china broken from sliding off the counters in the mess I\u2019d \u201caccidentally\u201d created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cOh no,\u201d I said, covering my mouth in mock horror. \u201cI guess I\u2019m just too clumsy, Veronica. Guess it wasn\u2019t meant to last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her face turned the same shade as her lipstick as the party planner whispered, \u201cYou\u2019ll have to pay thousands for the damages, Ms. Callahan. The rental contract is very clear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The room went silent, and I swear, some of her friends were trying not to laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night, when the last guest left, Veronica screeched at me, threatening punishment. But for once, Dad stepped in. He\u2019d seen everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEnough,\u201d he said firmly. \u201cYou humiliated Lena in front of everyone, and now you<\/em> get to pay for your little stunt. Don\u2019t you dare blame her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor once, Veronica had no comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next morning, Dad quietly handed me a check. \u201cFor your prom dress,\u201d he said. \u201cI should have had your back a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And just like that, the universe balanced its scales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Lena\u2019s stepmother, Veronica, threw an elaborate party for her 45th birthday, Lena was ordered to play the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1884,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions\/1884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/states-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}